Merchandising from the past

As Helming looked again at the product on the page, “this item did seem too rustic and not a great fit with the more contemporary faith product on the page,” she says.

It occurred to Helming that the product would look great hanging in her father's den, “and that it might be the perfect fit for a masculine gift page I was working on.”?

She repositioned the product to a spread of fishing and golfing merchandise “and saw the sales for this item pick up significantly.”

How can you look at your tried-and-true merchandise with new eyes?

REVIVE

Some companies make a business out of reviving products. Think vintage clothing stores, classic cars or Ebay or even The Vermont Country Store, a brand that specializes in the “practical and hard-to-find.”

For more than 60 years, The Vermont Country Store has built a business bringing customers items that they have long remembered.

Head of merchandising Jane Patton says: “We focus on what we have always done — practical frugality with a touch of nostalgia. It is our practice to always bring back revivals,” what the cataloger calls products from the past.

On its Website, The Vermont Country Store encourages its customers to reminisce about products from the past, whether it's candy counter memories or Fischer-Price toys or even Lifebuoy soap.

How can you revive hit merchandise from your company's past?

The potential savings gained by the ingenuity of your company's Plan R might be just the competitive advantage your company needs to sustain itself in today's lean economic times. Don't be afraid of the R word!

Andrea Syverson (asyverson@ierpartners.com) is president of IER Partners, a consulting company specializing in brand and merchandising transformations.